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Public health systems should guarantee universal access to health care services, including cancer screening. We assessed whether certain population subgroups were underrepresented among participants in colorectal cancer screening with sigmoidoscopy and faecal immunochemical testing (FIT). Between 2012 and 2019, about 140 000 individuals aged 50 to 74 years were randomly invited to once‐only sigmoidoscopy or first round of FIT screening. Our study included 46 919 individuals invited to sigmoidoscopy and 70 019 to FIT between 2012 and 2017. We used logistic regression models to evaluate if demographic and socioeconomic factors and use of certain drugs were associated with participation. Twenty‐four thousand one hundred and fifty‐nine (51.5%) individuals attended sigmoidoscopy and 40 931 (58.5%) FIT screening. Male gender, young age, low education and income, being retired or unemployed, living alone, being an immigrant, long driving time to screening centre, and use of antidiabetic and psychotropic drugs were associated with low participation in both screening groups. Many of these factors also predicted low acceptance of colonoscopy after positive FIT. While male gender, young age and living alone were more strongly associated with nonparticipation in FIT than sigmoidoscopy, low education and income, being retired or immigrant and long driving time were more strongly associated with nonparticipation in sigmoidoscopy than FIT. In conclusion, participation was lower in sigmoidoscopy than FIT. Predictors of nonparticipation were similar between arms. However, low socioeconomic status, being an immigrant and long driving time affected participation more in sigmoidoscopy screening, suggesting that FIT may guarantee more equal access to screening services than sigmoidoscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To explore the association between the psychosocial work environment and the risk of sick leave among governmental employees with symptom-defined post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after a workplace bomb attack. Design A prospective study on employees who met the symptom criteria for PTSD. Questionnaire data on the psychosocial work environment 10 months after the terrorist attack was linked to registry data on doctor-certified sick leave in the period 12–22 months after the attack. Setting The bombing of the government ministries in Oslo, Norway, 22 July 2011. Participants The study sample consists of 94 Norwegian governmental employees, all with symptom-defined PTSD from the Norwegian version of the PTSD checklist (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Specific) measured 10 months after the attack. Results After adjustment for sex and severity of PTSD symptoms, predictability at work reduced the odds of sick leave (adjusted OR=0.62, 95% CI 0.40 to 0.98). Sense of control over decisions at work was associated with fewer absence days for employees with sick leave (adjusted rate ratio=0.61, 95% CI 0.38 to 0.98). Conclusions Employees with PTSD after workplace terrorism would benefit from control over their workplace conditions and increased predictability to reduce the risk of sick leave. The findings suggest that the work environment can facilitate employees’ work ability after stressful events, independent of severity of PTSD symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large body of research has shown that terrorism enhances fears and undermines perceived safety in a high proportion of both directly exposed individuals and individuals without any form of direct exposure (i.e. no geographical proximity to an attack). Some studies have further suggested that fear of terrorism may adversely affect health in those without direct exposure and that this may constitute an important public health burden because of the number who are indirectly exposed. Limited studies have investigated threat and safety perception after workplace terrorism and the possible consequences for employee health. To explore whether perceived safety and threat in employees whose workplace was subjected to a terrorist attack are associated with subsequent sick-leave. A longitudinal questionnaire survey on governmental employees' perceived safety and threat at work one (T1) and two (T2) years after the 2011 terrorist attack on the Norwegian ministries was linked to registry data on doctor-certified sick-leave for two 9-month periods following T1 and T2 (N = 1703). There was fairly strong evidence (0.004 < p < 0.034) that higher perceived safety was associated with a close to 30% reduction in sick-leave in fully adjusted models which included terror exposure and symptom-based PTSD. There was inconclusive evidence that lower perceived threat was associated with reduced sick-leave in the full models. Reduced perceived safety in employees following workplace terrorism may have adverse health consequences of public health significance given how prevalent this perception seems to be. The study supports that post-terrorism response plans should include strategies on how to address the potentially large number of individuals suffering ill health after terror even if they were not directly exposed and do not meet criteria for PTSD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study examining psychological aspects of the work factors and shift schedules on the mental health of workers in the Norwegian petroleum industry. Topics discussed include difference in neuroticism among workers in shift schedules; outcome measurement based on hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS); and measurement of neuroticism through the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ).

Purpose – This study aims to explore relationships between exposure to bullying at work and intention to leave the organisation, actual leaving the workplace, and exclusion from working life through sick leave or rehabilitation or disability pension. Design/methodology/approach – A prospective design with two surveys of a national representative sample of the Norwegian work force was used (n=1,775). The response rate at the first data collection in 2005 was 56.4 per cent, and 70 per cent at the second data collection in 2007. Bullying was measured using two measurement methods: self-labelled victims of bullying and exposure to bullying behaviour, respectively. Findings – This study shows partial support for Leymann's assumption that bullying at work will lead to exclusion from working life. Logistic regressions showed that victims of bullying considered leaving their work more often than did individuals who were not bullied, on both measurement times. The results also showed that victims have changed employer more often than non-victims. However, most victims are still working full time or part time two years later. Practical implications – Prevention of workplace bullying must be handled through procedures on an organisational level. Rehabilitation programs and reintegration must be offered for employees unable to stay in their job. Counselling should be available for those who experience bullying or consider leaving their job. Originality/value – To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study examining bullying, intention to leave, turnover and exclusion from working life with a prospective longitudinal design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article re-examines the relation between The Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP-64C) and the Five-Factor Model of personality, using both normative and statistic ipsative scores in the partitioning of the IIP-64C item set. A non-clinical sample (n = 132) completed the NEO-FFI personality inventory and the IIP-64C. In accordance with previous studies, Agreeableness and Extraversion were linked with IIP-64C, regardless of type of partitioning of the IIP-64C item set. Neuroticism had strong association with interpersonal problems based on normative scores, but statistic ipsation removed this association. While the normative IIP-64C scores did not confirm the structural properties of the Circumplex model, the ipsatized scores did. In conclusion, the use of statistical ipsation of the IIP-64C could be a useful addition to traditional personality assessment procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Organized cancer screening programs should be equally accessible for all groups in society. We assessed differences in participation in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening among different immigrant groups., Methods: Between 2012 and 2019, 140,000 individuals aged 50 to 74 years were randomly invited to sigmoidoscopy or repeated faecal immunochemical test (FIT) in a CRC screening trial. In this study, we included 46,919 individuals invited to sigmoidoscopy and 70,018 invited to the first round of FIT between 2012 and 2017. We examined difference in participation between non-immigrants and immigrants, and within different immigrant groups by geographic area of origin, using logistic regression models, adjusted for several sociodemographic factors and health factors., Results: In total, we included 106,695 non-immigrants and 10,242 immigrants. The participation rate for FIT was 60% among non-immigrants, 58% among immigrants from Western countries and 37% among immigrants from non-Western countries. The participation rate for sigmoidoscopy was 53% among non-immigrants, 48% among immigrants from Western countries and 23% among immigrants from non-Western countries. Compared to non-immigrants, multivariate adjusted odds ratio for non-participation in FIT screening was 1.13 (95% confidence interval 1.04-1.23) and 1.82 (1.69-1.96) for immigrants from Western and non-Western countries. The corresponding numbers in sigmoidoscopy screening were 1.34 (1.21-1.48) and 2.83 (2.55-3.14). The lowest participation was observed in immigrants from Eastern Europe, Northern Africa and Western Asia, and South-Central Asia., Conclusion: Participation in CRC screening in Norway was particularly low among non-Western immigrants, which could put them at increased risk for late stage diagnosis of CRC. Participation was lower in sigmoidoscopy screening than in FIT screening, especially among immigrants from non-Western countries., Competing Interests: SB is due to receive personal fees from Gilead outside the submitted work. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Bhargava, Botteri, Berthelsen, Iqbal, Randel, Holme and Berstad.)

The psychosocial work environment is of great importance for regaining health and productivity after a workplace disaster. Still, there is a lack of knowledge about the impact of a disaster on the psychosocial work environment. The purpose of this study was to examine whether employees' perceptions of role clarity, role conflicts, and predictability in their work situation changed from before to after a workplace terrorist attack. We combined data from two prospective work environment surveys of employees in three governmental ministries that were the target of the 2011 Oslo terrorist attack. A first two-wave survey was conducted 4-5 years and 2-3 years before the attack, and a second three-wave survey took place 10 months, 2 years, and 3 years after the attack. Of 504 individuals who were employed at the time of the bombing, 220 were employed in both pre- and post-disaster periods, participated in both the first and the second survey, and consented to the linking of data from the two surveys. We found no significant changes in levels of role clarity, role conflict, and predictability from before to after the terrorist attack. Adjusting for sex, age and education had no effect on the results. The findings suggest that perceptions of the psychosocial working environment are likely to be maintained at previous levels in the aftermath of a workplace disaster. Considering the importance of the psychosocial work environment for regaining health and productivity, the findings are important for the preparation for, and management of, future crises., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Berthelsen, Hansen, Nissen, Nielsen, Knardahl and Heir.)

Objectives: Studies show that social support may reduce the negative psychological effects of terror. The aim was to explore the effects of the psychosocial work environment on sick leave risk among governmental employees after a workplace bomb attack., Design: We linked longitudinal survey data collected at 10 and 22 months after the bombing with registry data on doctor-certified sick leave collected from 42 months before the attack to 33 months after the attack. ORs and rate ratios were estimated with mixed effects hurdle models., Setting: The bombing of the government ministries in Oslo, Norway, 22 July 2011., Participants: We identified 1625 participants from a cohort of 3520 employees working in the ministries during the bombing in 2011., Results: After adjustment for confounders, social support from coworkers reduced the odds of sick leave (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.93), and there was marginal evidence for reduced odds with support from superior (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.87 to 1.03). A social work climate, an innovative climate and a human resource primacy climate (HRP) reduced the sick leave risk (eg, HRP OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.66 to 0.90). The hurdle model found no associations between psychosocial support at work and the duration of sick leave., Conclusions: Psychosocial support at work can enhance employees' work ability after terror and reduce the sick leave risk by more than 20%. However, a supportive psychosocial work environment did not reduce the duration of sickness absence. The protective role of psychosocial work factors on sick leave may be most significant when employees are at work and interact with their work environment., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.)

Objective: To explore the association between the psychosocial work environment and the risk of sick leave among governmental employees with symptom-defined post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after a workplace bomb attack., Design: A prospective study on employees who met the symptom criteria for PTSD. Questionnaire data on the psychosocial work environment 10 months after the terrorist attack was linked to registry data on doctor-certified sick leave in the period 12-22 months after the attack., Setting: The bombing of the government ministries in Oslo, Norway, 22 July 2011., Participants: The study sample consists of 94 Norwegian governmental employees, all with symptom-defined PTSD from the Norwegian version of the PTSD checklist (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Specific) measured 10 months after the attack., Results: After adjustment for sex and severity of PTSD symptoms, predictability at work reduced the odds of sick leave (adjusted OR=0.62, 95% CI 0.40 to 0.98). Sense of control over decisions at work was associated with fewer absence days for employees with sick leave (adjusted rate ratio=0.61, 95% CI 0.38 to 0.98)., Conclusions: Employees with PTSD after workplace terrorism would benefit from control over their workplace conditions and increased predictability to reduce the risk of sick leave. The findings suggest that the work environment can facilitate employees' work ability after stressful events, independent of severity of PTSD symptoms., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)